Translation of words with emotive meaning

Emotive meaning may be regarded as one of the objective semantic features proper to words as linguistic units and should not be confused with contextual emotive meaning that words may acquire in speech. Emotive meaning varies in different word classes. In some of them, for example, in interjections, the emotive element prevails whereas in function words it is practically non-existent.

The emotion meaning is based on connotations - positive, negative or neutral. Russian is rich in emotive suffixes whose meaning is rendered by using additional lexical items (e.g. домишко - small, wretched house) or different lexemes (cf.: дом - house, домишко -hovel).

Some words may acquire a negative or positive connotation in different contexts. The noun "glamour" and the adjective "glamorous" may illustrate this point. The following examples are from Somerset Maugham: R. was captivated by the vulgar glamour and the shoddy brilliance of the scene before him. P. Был пленен вульгарным блеском и дешевой роскошью окружающего.

(As a matter of fact both collocations "vulgar glamour" and "shoddy brilliance" are synonymous):

...who were attracted for the moment by the glamour of the dancer or the blatant sensuality of the woman. -...которых на мгновение привлек романтический ореол танцовщицы или её откровенная чувственность.

Cf.: the following example from a newspaper review:

Hirsh's Richard is not lacking in glamour. Facially he is a smiling fallen angel (The Observer Review, 1973). Ричард в исполнении Хирша не лишен обаяния. У него лицо улыбающегося падшего ангела.

Sometimes differences in usage or valency do not allow the use of the Russian referential equivalent, and the translator is forced to resort to a l exical repl acement with the emotive meaning preserved.

In the general strike, the fight against the depression, the antifascist struggle, and the struggle against Hitlerism the British Communist Party played a proud role (The Labour Monthly, 1970).

Во время всеобщей забастовки, в борьбе против кризиса, в антифашистской борьбе против Мосли и против гитлеризма Коммунистическая партия Великобритании играла выдающуюся роль.

The emotive meaning of some adjectives and adverbs is so strong that it suppresses the referential meaning (I. R. Galperin. Stylistics. M.,1971, p.60.) and they are used merely as intensifies. They are rendered by Russian intensifies irrespective of their reference. i_

Even judged by Tory standards, the level of the debate on the devaluation of the pound yesterday was abysmally low (M.S., 1973).

Даже с точки зрения консерваторов дебаты в Палате общин по вопросу о девальвации фунта происходили на чрезвычайно /невероятно / низком уровне.

The emotive meaning often determines the translator's choice. The English word "endless" is neutral in its connotations, while the Russian бесконечный has negative connotations - boring or tiresome (бесконечные разговоры). Thus, in the translation of the phrase "the endless resolutions received by the National Peace Committee" the word "endless" should be translated by Russian ad­jective "бесчисленные" or "многочисленные". Многочисленные резолюции, полученные Национальным комитетом защиты мира. The Russian word «озарила» conveys positive connotations, e.g. "Ее лицо озарила улыбка", where as its English referential equivalent is evidently neutral. Horror dawned in her face (Victoria Holt). A possible translation will be: Её лицо выразило ужас.

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